On the other hand, the disapproval rating rose 5.0 points to 33.9%, topping 30% for the first time in eight months.

Survey respondents are apparently critical of the government’s response to the university construction scandal involving school operator Kake Educational Institution, run by a friend of the prime minister.

Late last week, education minister Matsuno Hirokazu was pressured into launching a reinvestigation into the alleged existence of documents at the education ministry mentioning Abe’s “will” to give favorable treatment to Kake’s plan to set up a new veterinary department in a special deregulation zone, after repeatedly rejecting requests from opposition parties by saying the initial probe had found no such documents.

As the survey was conducted on June 9–16, it may not have fully reflected the outcome of the reinvestigation, announced Thursday, that confirmed the documents’ existence.